Juiced and Zapped

Chemotherapy and Radiation started today!!  Woo ha!  I think the whole family is just happy to make a little progress on this stupid cancer thing.  For something so serious as cancer, it really seems like things move VERY slowly.  Anywho, I was my normal, annoying self calling and texting my parents all day seeing how everything was going.  Mom dutifully reported... all of dad's bathroom trips, nose blowing, shoe tying and all other mundane happenings.  I thought it would be so cool to be there for the start of the chemo/rad but I had to stay home to let Toby (my parents' dog) out to pee.  Why am I always stuck on dog duty!? 

Here is an excerpt from the email my dad sent to me...I think you can see where his spirit is at these days...

Well, I am sure it is too early to make this brash claim, but this ain't no thing!

I have asked for a tour of the proton accelerator device that facilitates the proton beam. I invited Maureen to go too but she is not as excited about it as I am. I am really excited to see it. I guess its still that old engineer hidden away inside. Oh, I hope they don't blast that part out too!

Well its 5:15 and I have been juiced and zapped! I am pretty sure I made some cancer history today ...at least a few cells are history (dead)!

Dad gets to wear a fanny pack!! I know, I am laughing about it myself right this minute... it is black, not like the purple or hot pink that I was envisioning, but nonetheless, I think we can still refer to it as his 'man purse'.  Or at least I will.  It is the pack that holds the chemo drugs or whatever other drugs they want to pump him full of.  You probably wouldn't even notice it if you saw him with it (unless you were staring and wondering why he is accessorizing with a man purse...).  A little tube goes up into his central line and doses him.

I haven't seen Dad with his fanny yet, but I did get quite the show yesterday as I watched Mom flush out Dad's central line.  It was such a weird sight that we all were laughing so hard at how it looked like mom was really giving dad some really 'good stuff' through his central line!  It was just such an odd site seeing my mom with a syringe that she was putting in Dad's arm.  Pictures were involved for posterity, but probably not for this blog :).